Osteospermum plant named &#39;kakegawa au11&#39;

ABSTRACT

An  Osteospermum  cultivar particularly distinguished by its light pink flower color and tendency to hold flowers open later in the evening.

GENUS AND SPECIES

Osteospermum fruticosum

VARIETY DENOMINATION

‘Kakegawa AU11’

BACKGROUND OF THE NEW PLANT

The variety ‘Kakegawa AU11’ originated from a gene pool population made in 1999 in Misato, Japan. In May 1999, three varieties were intercrossed and seed from these three plants were bulked to make the population. The three varieties were ‘Kakegawa AU4’ (U.S. Plant Pat. No. 12,812), ‘Purple Passion’ (unprotected, now only available in ‘Passion Mix’) and an unnamed breeding line of unknown origin. The unnamed breeding line possessed yellow flowers, an erect plant habit and very vigorous rooting. It is not known which two varieties were the actual parents for ‘Kakegawa AU11’. Seed from this population was sown in April 2000 and plants were transplanted to the outdoor field. In August 2000, single-plant selections were made for vegetative propagation using flower color, compact plant habit and strong rooting as selection criteria. One selection, designated breeder code M2-72, became the new variety ‘Kakegawa AU11’. The variety ‘Kakegawa AU11’ was found to be stable and reproduce true to type in successive generations of asexual propagation.

DESCRIPTION OF PHOTOGRAPHS

This new Osteospermum plant is illustrated by the accompanying photographs which show blooms and foliage of the plant in full color. The colors shown are as true as can be reasonably obtained by conventional photographic procedures.

FIG. 1 shows a close-up view of several inflorescences.

FIG. 2 shows a side view of the entire plant including its flower buds, opened blooms and foliage.

DESCRIPTION OF THE NEW CULTIVAR

The following detailed descriptions set forth the distinctive characteristics of ‘Kakegawa AU11’. The data which defines these characteristics were collected from asexual reproductions carried out in Salinas, Calif. Data was collected on plants 28 weeks from transplanting rooted cuttings into 16 cm diameter pots, one plant per pot. Color references are to the RHS Colour Chart of The Royal Horticultural Society of London (RHS).

DESCRIPTION OF THE NEW PLANT

-   Classification:     -   -   Family.—Compositae.         -   Botanical.—Osteospermum fruticosum. -   Parentage: The female and male parents are unknown. This variety was     selected from a gene pool population that was created by     intercrossing the varieties ‘Kakegawa AU4’ (U.S. Plant Pat. No.     12,812), ‘Purple Passion’ (unprotected, now only available in     ‘Passion Mix’) and an unnamed breeding line with purple flowers, an     erect plant habit and very vigorous growth. -   Growth:     -   -   Time to produce a rooted cutting.—Cuttings will colonize a             2.5 cm diameter by 2.5 cm tall greenhouse tray cell with             peat-based plant media in approximately five weeks. Cuttings             are dipped in a normal dilution (1:9) of DIP 'N GROW root             inducing solution in water. The trays are misted hourly             during rooting.         -   Environmental conditions for plant growth.—Rooted cuttings             are transplanted to pots with a 16 cm diameter, one plant             per pot. Peat moss-based growing media is used. The pots are             watered using a 150-200 ppm fertilizer solution containing             18% nitrogen, 8% phosphorus and 18% potassium. The soil is             allowed to dry between waterings. During the first few weeks             after transplanting the plants should have evening             temperatures around 15-18° C. for good root growth. When             plants reach 7.5-10 cm in height they are pinched back to             5-6 leaves to promote branching. The plants are grown             through the winter in cool greenhouses (10-15° C.) with no             shading to keep their habit compact. In spring, after the             plants have received at least four weeks of cool conditions             to vernalize, warmer temperatures can be used to promote             blooming. Spring and summer daytime high temperatures in             Salinas, California, where the data was collected, range             from 16-25° C.         -   Time to bloom from propagation.—18-20 weeks when rooted             vegetative cuttings are transferred to a six-inch diameter             pot in late fall and given several weeks of below 50 degree             Fahrenheit temperature prior to increasingly warmer spring             weather. Flowering season is in April through June and is             temperature (required to initiate bud development) and day             length dependent (long days). They will stop flowering when             temperatures are too high, such as in the southern areas of             the country.         -   Habit.—Upright and branching.         -   Life cycle.—Perennial. -   Plant:     -   -   Form.—Branching, dense.         -   Plant size.—height is 64-90 cm; width 46-64 cm. -   Stems:     -   -   Anthocyanin color.—Greyed-purple (RHS 187A).         -   Internode length.—0.8-1.0 cm.         -   Stem color.—Yellow-green (RHS 145A).         -   Stem description.—Strong, erect.         -   Stem diameter.—5.0-6.0 mm.         -   Pubescence.—Glabrous.         -   Pubescence shape.—Linear.         -   Pubescence color.—White (RHS N 155A). -   Leaves:     -   -   Arrangement.—Alternate.         -   Shape.—Oblanceolate.         -   Apex.—Acute.         -   Base.—Decurrent.         -   Margin.—Serrate.         -   Venation.—Pinnate.         -   Surface.—Dull, rough.         -   Surface pubescence.—Slight, white (RHS N155A).         -   Length.—5.5-8.5 cm.         -   Width.—2.0-3.5 cm.         -   Thickness.—1.0 mm.         -   Color.—Upper is green (RHS 139A); Lower is yellow-green (RHS             146A).         -   Venation color.—Upper is yellow-green (RHS 144A); Lower is             yellow-green (RHS 146B). -   Inflorescence:     -   -   Type.—Capitulum (head); disc florets are staminate and ray             florets are carpellate.         -   Diameter.—7.0-8.0 cm.         -   Depth.—2.5-3.0 cm.         -   Petal numbers.—18-22.         -   Disc diameter.—1.3 cm.         -   Disc floret number.—65-70.         -   Flowering habit.—Determinate.         -   Flowers life span.—3-4 days.         -   Fragrance.—None.         -   Seed production.—None.         -   Peduncle length.—6.0-7.0 cm.         -   Peduncle diameter.—2.0 mm.         -   Peduncle color.—Yellow-green (RHS 144A).         -   Peduncle texture.—Rough, pubescent.         -   Phyllaries.—18-22 per inflorescence, free, arranged             symmetrically; Length — 1.2-1.5 cm; Width — 2.0 mm; Apex —             Acute; Margin — Entire; Shape — Linear, acute tip; Color —             Upper, yellow-green (RHS 146B); Lower, yellow-green (RHS             146C). -   Ray florets:     -   -   Corolla.—One petal per ray floret. Only the outer row of             florets are the ray florets.         -   Petals length.—3.8-4.0 cm.         -   Petal width.—0.8-1.0 cm.         -   Petal shape.—Spatulate.         -   Petal apex.—Acute.         -   Petal margin.—Entire.         -   Petal color.—Upper, purple (RHS 75B) fading to white (RHS             N155A) near the base; Lower, yellow (RHS 10D), center stripe             2.0 mm purple (RHS 77C).         -   Petal pubescence.—None.         -   Pistil number.—1, compound.         -   Pistil length.—0.5 mm.         -   Stigma form.—one style with two stigma branches.         -   Stigma color.—Purple (RHS N77C).         -   Style color.—White (RHS N155A). -   Disc florets:     -   -   Color.—(color at top, as seen looking at inflorescence)             yellow-green (RHS 144A).         -   Shape.—Tubular.         -   Apex.—Acute.         -   Surface.—Pubescent, dull.         -   Size.—Length 1.2-1.4 cm; width 0.8-1.0 mm.         -   Stamens.—5, fused into a single tube.         -   Anther color.—Purple (RHS 79A).         -   Pollen color.—Yellow-orange (RHS 23B). -   Disease and insect resistance: ‘Kakegawa AU11’ is very disease     resistant but it can be susceptible to aphids, thrips, whiteflies     and worms.

Comparison with known cultivars: ‘Kakegawa AU11’ is a distinct variety of Osteospermum owing to the creamy, off-white color the flowers have when they first open. As the flowers mature, they turn to a light pink color at the upper portion of the petals and strongly fade into a light white at the base portion. This new variety differs from the varieties ‘Kakegawa AU4’ and ‘Purple Passion’ mainly in flower color. ‘Kakegawa AU4’ has yellow flowers and ‘Purple Passion’ has purple flowers. ‘Kakegawa AU11’ is most similar to the variety ‘Kakegawa AU2’, the subject of U.S. Plant Pat. No. 12,795; however, there are numerous differences as shown in Table 1 below. TABLE 1 Trait ‘Kakegawa AU11’ ‘Kakegawa AU2’ Petals Light pink petal with shades of Purple (RHS N78C) purple (RHS 75B) on the upper petals with white portion and white (RHS N155B) (RHS N155A) at at the petal base the base Leaf Apex Acute with faint signs Rounded with no of pointed tip visible signs of tapering Pollen Color Yellow-green (RHS 23B) Yellow-orange (RHS 21A) Inflorescence 7.0-8.5 cm 5.0-6.0 cm Diameter 

1. A new and distinct cultivar of Osteospermum plant as shown and described herein. 